


the black cat

by DelicateBlossom



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Character Death, Choi Jongho is Whipped, Death, Halloween, Haunting, Horror, Human Choi Jongho, Human Kim Hongjoong, Kim Hongjoong is Whipped, M/M, Murder, Park Seonghwa is Whipped, Psychological Horror, Scary, Spooky
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:01:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27272368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DelicateBlossom/pseuds/DelicateBlossom
Summary: Hongjoong and Jongho are on a camping trip.. Though this trip hadn't quite turned out how either of them had expected.They may not make it out alive...
Relationships: Choi Jongho/Kim Hongjoong
Kudos: 5





	the black cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hongjoong and Jongho are on a camping trip together, both hoping to ease their crowded minds and heavy hearts of their complicated urban lifestyles. Little do they know, there are secrets and creatures lurking in the forest.  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Atiny! I'm very excited to share this story with you, and hopefully you enjoy reading it enough to complete it!  
> This short story will always be in 3rd person pov, past tense. The next chapter will not be in Jongho's point of view, it will be in Hongjoong's.  
> Let's hope that nothing bad happens ~

**\- Jongho -**

Jongho's eyes fluttered open and a moonlit atmosphere surrounded him. He was lying on his back, tightly burrito-ed beneath a thick woolly blanket inside of a small tent with his best friend, Hongjoong. He stared at the top of the tent where a clear-plastic covering allowed him to see the entirety of the full moon shining brightly down onto their resting figures. He was disrupted from looking at the moon as he heard an eerie ruffling noise right outside of the tent, but it had dissipated just as quickly as it had come. Jongho thought nothing of it, seeing how he was sleeping in the woods, and he drowsily shifted his body so that he was now laying on his side, facing a sleeping Hongjoong in quite a close proximity. He was used to being with Hongjoong like this. They had been inseparable throughout their childhoods, neither spending more than a few days apart from the other, and they shared everything with each other. That friendship had only grown and flourished throughout their lives, which is what had led them here.

In the moonlit tent, Jongho stared at Hongjoong's back, silently gazing at the way Hongjoong's skin glowed in the moonlight and how his blue-tinted hair stood out against the small black throw pillow beneath his head, but he soon noticed the awkward position that Hongjoong was sleeping in; he was lying on his side with his knees pulled closely to his chest and his arms were wrapped around his knees, a thick blanket tightly tucked beneath his body. He was trying to accommodate for the freezing temperature within the tent, but his efforts were in vain. Jongho watched Hongjoong's shoulders shake lightly beneath his blanket. Jongho unwrapped himself from his own blanket and sat up, still looking at Hongjoong. They hadn't considered how cold it would be in the forest so they didn't bring any extra blankets. Jongho frowned, looking for a way to keep Hongjoong warm. Jongho, now shivering himself, looked down and grabbed the corner of his own blanket, leaning towards Hongjoong so he could cover him with it. Slightly hovering over Hongjoong, he draped half of his blanket over Hongjoong's body and tucked it beneath him, similar to how Hongjoong's own blanket was already covering him.

Once he finished tucking the blanket underneath of Hongjoong, he didn't move away and lay back down immediately. Instead, he still hovered over Hongjoong. Despite how uncomfortable the position that Hongjoong was sleeping in looked, he seemed at ease; peaceful, even. Jongho stayed hovering lightly above Hongjoong and innocently watched him sleep for a while, slightly smiling at his peaceful expression and occasional snoring. He knew that their camping trip had been a success and its purpose had been fulfilled. Neither of them had been able to properly smile with their stress from work looming and the feeling of being trapped in the city, so when Hongjoong called Jongho and proposed that they go on a camping trip, Jongho was more than willing to accept his invitation.

Jongho finally pulled away from Hongjoong's resting body and settled back down onto his side, still facing Hongjoong. He let thoughts of his best friend float about in his mind as his eyes grew heavy. Just as he felt himself drifting off to sleep again, he heard Hongjoong shift out of his uncomfortable position. Jongho opened his eyes, wondering if his friend was waking up. He watched as Hongjoong stretched out his legs and rolled over, the blankets beneath him rustling as he moved. Jongho's blanket, covering both of them, limited the space that Jongho might have been able to use to move away from Hongjoong's sleeping body. Now, with his face only inches from Jongho's, Hongjoong sighed lightly, still sound asleep. He cutely cupped one of his hands beneath his cheek while the other hand seemingly draped itself around Jongho. Jongho was too happy to be surprised, so he simply smiled, hesitantly cradling Hongjoong's head to his chest with his free arm, and closed his eyes.

A few minutes after this, the rustling of the leaves, right outside of their tent, returned, but it somehow sounded more fragile than last time. Jongho, lying down with his eyes wide open, still cradling Hongjoong, attentively listened for any sounds that should alarm him, but again the rustling vanished. What replaced the noise was a very hushed cry, almost indeterminable to human ears.

_Meow..._

Jongho sighed quietly in relief. It was only a cat. He closed his eyes again, but the cat cried out once more.

_Meeeooowwww... Meoowwww..._

Jongho's brows furrowed and concern grew in his chest. The cat sounded scared and it could be hungry, or injured. Jongho's soft heart wouldn't let him ignore it.

Jongho slowly removed his hand from behind Hongjoong's head and carefully took Hongjoong's arm that was wrapped around him, laying it beside Hongjoong's head, where his other hand was still cupping his cheek. Before getting up, Jongho brushed his hand lightly over Hongjoong's pale cheek and whispered something to the sleeping man. Then he sat up, free from Hongjoong's gorilla grasp of sleep. He grabbed his coat, trying very hard to keep it form making a wretchedly loud scuffing noise when he picked it up. Quietly unzipping the door of the tent, he hunched down and crept out with a flashlight in hand, cursing quietly as the temperature outside of the tent was unforgiving and nipped at any portion of his body that was not covered by a piece of cloth. He zipped the tent closed after emerging on the outside and, sliding on his coat, he listened as the cat continued to cry:

 _Meooooowwwwww_...

The _click_ of the flashlight startled Jongho, even though he clicked it on himself.

 _Meoowww, meoww, meow,_ more cries from the cat... _  
_

Jongho pointed the light in the direction of the crying cat, seeing nothing but the endless forest in front of him. His heart pounded in his chest as he watched the shadows of the forest sway and shift without himself even moving. He heard the cat again:

_Meooow..._

It sounded slightly distant now but Jongho was determined, and so he quietly crept towards the cries.

_Meoooww.. meow.. m-_

Not too far into the forest, Jongho could no longer hear the cries of the cat because the leaves of the forest floor crunched loudly beneath his feet, so he stopped moving. Even though he had stopped, not a single sound filled the air accept for the leaves rustling in the trees. The wind blew lightly against Jongho and only then did he realize that he was shivering viciously. He stood still for only a few minutes longer, hoping to hear the cat again but all of the cries had vanished.

Turning back in the direction that he had come from, he shined his flashlight only to find that the campsite was nowhere to be seen. He waved the flashlight in every direction, making sure that he hadn't just mistaken the direction he had come from, but he still saw no sign of the tent. In fact, the whole area looked very unfamiliar. He hadn't walked more than 20 paces into the forest, so why couldn't he see the tent? Anxiety clutched his stomach and he called out, "Hongjoong?"

He felt bad for being lost and possibly waking Hongjoong up to find him but he didn't want to move in fear of getting lost even deeper into the forest. He received no response and so he cried out again, "Hongjoong??"

Jongho had a constant feeling of uneasiness surrounding him. He could feel the glaring eyes, whether it be the eyes of an animal or something more sinister, watching him from every angle and crevice of the forest. He shook lightly at the bitterness of the air and decided to walk in a circle. As he walked in a circle, he pointed his flashlight in the direction of the forest outside of his circle, looking for any sign of the tent or campsite. He still saw nothing.

Suddenly, his foot hit a root and he tripped, dropping the flashlight. He cursed his clumsiness and stood up to brushed himself off. Jongho jumped, frightened, as he saw the flashlight flicker once on the forest floor, then a few times more, and went out. The forest was almost pitch black, only illuminated by the moon shining brightly through the very small openings between the leaves of the canopy above. Jongho panicked, rushing to the flashlight. When he picked it up, he shook it vigorously as darkness leached from the trees around him. Every noise was accessible to his ears now, and every noise immediately became a threat. The leaves rustled in the wind, a stick cracked in the depths of the woods, and an own hooted in the distance.

The wind suddenly picked up and whipped against Jongho. He shook uncontrollably at the bitterly cold edge of the wind, trying to cover himself with his arms, still shaking the flashlight. The wind carried with it the leaves of the canopy, and so the forest floor was lit for no more than a few seconds, but this was long enough for Jongho to spot the tiny silhouette of a child hunched beneath the leaves. He gasped, backing away slowly, still shivering. He hit the flashlight on the palm of his hand, frustrated and terrified. It began to work again and he pointed it directly at the child, only to find a large tree root in the child's place. Jongho sighed in relief. Instantaneously, he heard the leaves shuffling behind him and a very loud crack emanated from the forest. He screamed, a very loud and bloodcurdling scream, but before he was able to turn his entire body around and find out exactly what was behind him, a sharp pain hit the back of his head and he blacked out.

* * *

**\- Hongjoong -**

Hongjoong, snuggled up with the blankets, was comfortable and safe in the tent. Unknowingly, he was starting to wake up and his first realization was that his body was warm, very warm, but one of his hands were cold. He was laying on his side, and he knew he was facing Jongho, or should have been, so he stretched his arm out, reaching, with his cold hand, for the warmth of a familiar frame. Once his hand brushed the cold plastic of the tent's floor rather than the warm chest of Jongho, Hongjoong opened his eyes, concerned because of the empty space where his friend should have been. He glanced towards the door, noticing that Jongho's coat was missing too. Hongjoong shook it off at first; he would have heard if his friend was in trouble.. But wouldn't he have heard his friend leave the tent, or even have heard him outside now? Maybe Jongho just went out to use the bathroom....

Lying in the tent for a few more minutes, Hongjoong became more anxious. It was only when he heard the leaves crunching, just outside of the tent, that he sighed in relief. Hongjoong snuggled himself up into the blankets, waiting patiently for Jongho to come back into the tent, considering giving him a jump scare because Jongho had been out so long. The crunching leaves ceased to sound, but there was no sign of the zipper of the tent coming undone. Hongjoong began to worry again and called out, "Jongho?"

Silence followed.. Hongjoong's chest began to tighten and fear crept its way into his heart. "Is everything alright?"

More silence. Hongjoong could hear the progressively increasing pace of his own heart beating in his chest:

_thump thump... thump thump... thump thump..._

"Jongho?" This was barely a whisper, and it had not come from Hongjoong's lips. Hongjoong screamed and, at the same time, another scream, a bloodcurdling scream, erupted form the forest. Hongjoong was mortified, both because of the scream from the forest and of the whisper he had just head, and didn't think twice when he bolted upright, grabbing his coat, a flashlight already stuffed in the pocket, and quickly shoving his feet into his shoes. He had never unzipped a tent with such speed in his life and he didn't even bother zipping it back up when he crouched out. He ran straight towards their car, too scared to worry about the cold wind whipping against his face. He was also too scared to look back and see who, or what, had whispered Jongho's name. He put his coat on while running towards their car, digging in his pockets for the keys. He didn't bother to stop running when the flashlight fell out of hick pocket because the shadows casted by the canopy of the trees and their tent were both far behind him now and the bright moonlight lit up the earth for him.

Hongjoong grew frantic once he reached their car, realizing only now that Jongho had the keys. Hongjoong turned around abruptly when yet another scream ripped its way through the forest, but this scream was different. It wasn't just a scream, but a familiar scream; a scream that would forever be burned into Hongjoong's mind.

"Hongjoong!" Jongho screamed, but he was nowhere to be seen and he didn't sound close. Hongjoong, panicking, crept back towards their tent in hopes of finding the flashlight he clumsily dropped, each of his senses devoted to protecting himself from any danger that may approach. While searching for his flashlight, he heard another scream but this scream was... inhuman. It was high pitched, drowning out every liable thought that Hongjoong may have had and seemingly voiding him of his senses. Instinctively, he hunched down and cupped both of his ears, wincing in pain at how overwhelming the scream was. His eyes focused on a small abnormal lump on the ground, and he realized that he had found his flashlight. He quickly uncupped his ears, grabbing the flashlight just fast enough to hear the scream turn to gurgles, as if the thing that had made the noise now had its throat slit.

"Hongjoong!!!" Jongho screamed again, and he could tell that Jongho needed help. One _click_ and Hongjoong's flashlight was on, shaking violently with his arms as he bolted into the forest towards Jongho's screams. He was running as fast as he could and his mind ran wild with him, the darkness of the night inspiring incredulous thoughts in Hongjoong's mind. What if that wasn't Jongho who had called for him? Or even worse, what if Jongho was dead?

"Jongho!" Hongjoong screamed desperately earning another scream from Jongho, but the scream was not getting closer. In fact, it was further away now.

"Jongho! Where are you!?" Hongjoong yelled but he received no response. Hongjoong had stopped running, screaming at the top of his lungs for his best friend.

"Jongho!! Jongho, please! You have to tell me where you are!!!" He stood still for a moment, shivering uncontrollably due to the fear and the cold. He shone his flashlight in every direction, searching for his friend as tears spilled from his eyes and stained his cheeks. He wanted Jongho to be safe, safe in his arms. One last scream from Jongho sent Hongjoong running again, this time to the left of the direction he had been running in previously.

Hongjoong could hear Jongho, very close now, as they both frantically called each other's names. Trees whipped past Hongjoong's body, branches just barely missing his head or shoulder. Despite his efforts, Hongjoong never made it to Jongho. Something on the forest floor caught his leg and he falls, hitting his head against a tree. Hongjoong is knocked out and Jongho is left, helplessly screaming for his friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm always open for any feedback you might have for me, so please don't be shy and share your opinions on my writing :)  
> I'm considering making this story longer, so please let me know what you think! Your comments might be my deciding factor ~  
> I should be posting the next chapter before Friday, November 13, 2020!  
> 


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